Silent in the Sanctuary

By: Deanna Raybourn

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father's estate crowded with family and friends: but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters.

Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget, the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane, is among her father's houseguests...and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.

But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia's own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin's innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul.

Silent in the Sanctuary is the sequel to Silent in the Grave.

©2008 Deanna Raybourn (P)2008 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Critic reviews

"A sassy heroine and a masterful, secretive hero. Fans of romantic mystery could ask no more." ( Kirkus)
"Fans and new readers alike will welcome this sparkling sequel to Raybourn's debut Victorian mystery, Silent in the Grave....The complex mystery, a delightfully odd collection of characters, and deft period details produce a rich and funny read." ( Publishers Weekly)

Learn the words!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Silent in the Sanctuary to be better than the print version?

No, specifically because while the narrator is good overall, this is yet another book where words are painfully mispronounced. Please, please, please get the directors or producers to ensure that the readers know how to pronounce the words in the books they read. Nothing ruins a story more quickly than mangled language.There's just no excuse. If they review before the performance they can look up unfamiliar words on the Internet and even hear audio to check their pronounciation. It's easy.

Fun sequel (Archer narrating!)

I read the previous Raybourn-Silent novel and enjoyed it, and this one as well. I waited until it came out narrated by Ellen Archer, who does an excellent job narrating (listening to it narrated in an American accent would be irritating, I think). These are light, fun novels that keep your attention while you read them and provide a fun time.

great story telling

There is just something about this series that I love. The pacing is slow and methodical, but it captures my attention, none-the-less. The writing style is very reminiscent of Jane Austen, yet without the wordiness.

In this book, Lady Julia has returned home for the holidays, only to find a rather large house party and whole lot of intrigue. Among the house guests is Brisbane and his finance. When a murder is discovered, Julia once again partners with Brisbane to try to discover the killer.

Part of what makes this series so interesting is the wonderful cast of character. Like Ms. Austen, Raybourn follows the tradition of poking at the limitations of class and gender from the time period. However, she has created the March family, who is deliciously quirky and non-traditional. In addition, the tension and longing between Julia and Brisbane is palpable, yet it doesn't overpower the mystery of the book.

Great Read

I honestly liked the first book a bit better but this one is still very good! The narrator was fantastic and I can see myself finishing the series. :)

wonderful story

Narrator brought the characters to life. Thoroughly enjoyed story and will be looking for the next book in series

A Harlequin Romance

I didn’t realize these were Harlequin Romances until the end of this one where Harlequin is acknowledged. So that explains a lot. The story is drawn out and the romance is in teasers.

The author is not bad, but the story is light with. The story goes slowly, very slowly. The narrator is a good performer.

Enjoyable historical mystery; great narration

What made the experience of listening to Silent in the Sanctuary the most enjoyable?

The best part of listening to this audiobook was the narrator Ellen Archer. Beware of the version with narration by Jennifer Van Dyck. This version was accidentally downloaded when I selected the "Enchanced" format but when I selected format 4, I got the Ellen Archer version. Ellen Archer speaks with a definite British accent which I found much better than the American accent in the other version.

What other book might you compare Silent in the Sanctuary to and why?

This book is similar to "If Only to Deceive", the first book in the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander. Both are light, historical mysteries set in England. They have a similar feel to their main characters and somewhat quirky secondary characters.

What does Ellen Archer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms. Archer does a great job bringing the characters to life, particularly Lady Julia. The only voice I really did not like was for Julia's sister, Portia. The voice she used reminded me too much of Carol Kane's role in the movie "Scrooged" with the high-pitched, sing-songy cadence. Otherwise, she does a great job, even with the male characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This was not a book I would call a "page turner" and I had no problem putting it down between listens. However, I still looked forward to listening to it whenever I had the opportunity.

Any additional comments?

This book started off very slow and felt more like a Jane Austen book in the beginning than a mystery. There was a lot of talk between all the characters without much actually happening. A little less than halfway through the mystery actually kicked in and the story moved along at a quicker pace.

I wasn't let down

this second installment in the series was just as immersing as the first. the narrator also does the voices wonderfully.

Well written but chapters missing

I have the book in print, also. Although the narrator says the thirteenth chapter, twentieth chapter, etc. the Audible chapter guide does not match. Also, some chapters are completely missing (chapter 22 for example) and together it seems to be 5 chapters short. Otherwise the book was fun to listen to. I enjoyed it and will buy the next one.

Story pretty good. Accents not so much

I'm enjoying the story in this series as well as the narrator. However her accents are lacklustre at best. It's a bit distracting.